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Ashley Metcalfe
June 17, 2024
Wondering how laundry in Lisbon gets done?
Look no further!
Matthew and I spent a month living in Lisbon as digital nomads. We had to figure out things like where to get groceries, which SIM card to buy and one of the most important things we did every week…getting laundry washed!
Self-service laundry stores (aka laundromats) are a very popular thing in Lisbon for travelers or digital nomads! The majority of people at our coliving space had to use these laundry shops because we didn’t have our own washing machines in the building. If you live in Lisbon long-term, you probably have your own machines already but there are also options to drop off your laundry in Lisbon and get it washed/dried for you.
There are a few options you have to get laundry in Lisbon done and the cost for each can vary. We are going to share our experience getting laundry done and all the small details you need to know in this blog post.
If you are living out of a suitcase and need to wash your clothes as you travel – here’s everything you need to know about getting your laundry in Lisbon done.
Where To Get Laundry In Lisbon Washed?
If you want a cheap, easy solution: get laundry in Lisbon done through a self-service lavandaria (aka laundromat). There are scattered all across the city and a fairly cost-efficient option if you don’t have a washing machine at your hotel/hostel/Airbnb. If you want a convenient option and price isn’t a factor, they also have door-to-door laundry services available throughout the city.
In other words: when doing laundry in Lisbon, you’ve got options depending on your price and how convenient you want the whole process to be.
Here are the best places to get your laundry in Lisbon done!
Best Self-Service Laundry Spots In Lisbon
If you are staying in the city center of Lisbon, these are some self-service laundromats you can use:
- WashStation Baixa Castelo (this was our local one with several locations, just okay)
- Bairro Alto Wash & Go (high ratings on Google Maps)
- 5àsec (mixed reviews but super central location)
- WashStation Alfama (2nd location, better reviews)
Here are the prices for self-service laundry in Lisbon that we’ve paid, to give you an idea of what it may cost:
- 8kg = $5.00
- 12kg = $7.50
- 16kg = $9.50
- Dryer for 12 minutes = $2.00
The cost of the self-service laundromat depends on the weight of your laundry. This is definitely the cheapest way to do laundry in Lisbon (if you don’t have a washing machine at your hotel/Airbnb).
Best Premium Laundry Service
Don’t want to waste time getting laundry done while you’re exploring the beautiful city of Lisbon? We totally get it! There are door-to-door laundry services available in Lisbon – you will just pay a premium for that service. While it isn’t the cheapest option, it is definitely the most convenient!
The best door-to-door laundry in Lisbon is Ironing Hero Online Lavandaria. You can book the laundry service via WhatsApp and follow the steps on their website. How much would you pay for this premium laundry service?
- Wash & Dry: €3.50 per kg
- Wash & Fold: €5.00 per kg
- Premium Wash: €9.50 per kg
How does the door-to-door service prices compare to a self-service laundromat? For 8 kg of laundry at a self-service, you will pay €5.00. For 8 kg of laundry at a premium washing service, you will pay €28.00. This is quite the price difference but you are paying for convenience!
How Does Self-Service Laundry In Lisbon Work?
There are 5 steps to getting your self-service laundry in Lisbon washed, cleaned and ready to go:
Step 1: Load Your Clothes Into A Free Machine
You must put your clothes in a free washing machine and close the door. If there aren’t any free machines, simply check the time remaining to see if you will be able to get one in the next couple of minutes.
Step 2: Insert cash into the payment machine.
Yes, the self-service laundry machines in Lisbon are usually cash only! We didn’t always have cash on-hand so we had to make changes at times or withdraw from the ATMs in Lisbon.
The worst part is that sometimes, the payment machine couldn’t take bank notes and only coins! If you want to avoid going back and forth – your safest bet is to always pay with coins.
Step 3: Select the machine number and washing program.
Once you’ve inserted the payment, you can choose the machine you’ve loaded with your clothes. Make sure to double-check you’ve got the right machine number! Next, you will choose the washing program. The price can increase or decrease (a couple of cents) depending on the program you choose but the overall price is determined by the weight of your laundry.
You can choose other wash options like:
- frio (cold wash)
- 30°
- 40°
- 60°
- 90°
The most popular wash program was 30° which usually went for 55 minutes (if it was accurate). The weight of your laundry will determine the price! For example, we paid €5.00 for 8 kg of laundry when we were Lisbon digital nomads in 2022.
Step 4: Click Start!
Once you’ve selected your program, you simply click ‘Start’! Check the machine afterward to see how long your washing will take. You can either leave the store and grab a coffee somewhere or stay there to wait for your laundry. There’s usually free wifi in the self-service laundromats but they don’t have the most comfortable seats!
Step 5: Open the door and collect your clothes.
This last part might seem straightforward but…
…the machine’s timing wasn’t always accurate!
We did our usual program of 55 minutes, set a timer on our phone and made sure to arrive 3 minutes before the laundry machine was scheduled to finish. We ended up waiting an extra 35 minutes! That’s right, we just had to stand there waiting for it to finish while others were also waiting to put their laundry in our machine.
This was a complete waste of time because the machine wasn’t accurate! Not only for us but for the people that were waiting to put their laundry in next. These things can happen and it’s important to still be on time in case it (for whatever reason) decides to finish on time.
How Much Does Laundry In Lisbon Cost?
The cheapest option you have is to do your own laundry in your apartment/Airbnb if you have a washing machine or you’re willing to wash your clothes in the sink (which a lot of travelers do). The only thing you’ll need to spend money on is detergent!
The next cost-efficient option is the self-service laundromats which are scattered all across the city of Lisbon. We have the prices of our local one that we used and this was in 2022:
- 8kg = €5.00
- 12kg = €7.50
- 16kg = €9.50
- Dryer for 12 minutes = €2.00
Don’t want to bother with the hassle of doing laundry? The premium laundry service Ironing Hero will pick up your laundry, wash it and deliver right to your front door within a few days. Here are their pricing options:
- Wash & Dry: €3.50 per kg
- Wash & Fold: €5.00 per kg
- Premium Wash: €9.50 / kg
Laundry in Lisbon can be relatively cheap if you’re willing to spend the time and effort to get it done at a laundromat which can take up a bit of your time. This worked for us but it was definitely annoying when the machine’s timings weren’t accurate and we wasted almost an hour standing, waiting for the laundry to finish. It’s up to you to decide between splashing the cash vs the convenience.
4 Things To Know About Laundry In Lisbon
Don’t want any surprises when doing laundry in Lisbon? There aren’t really any etiquettes you need to follow necessarily but there are a few ways to make sure you have a better experience getting your laundry washed!
Here are some things that we noticed and learned from doing the self-service laundry option:
⌚️ You need to be on time.
Laundry shops in Lisbon can get pretty busy. It’s important to pick up your laundry on time when it is finished. Why? There are usually people waiting to stick their laundry in your machine (as they see it is almost done). I’m not too sure what happens if you leave it in the machine longer than expected – someone might put it on the side. Either way, you just don’t want to take the risk with your clothes!
💵 Cash only.
Most self-service laundromats only accept cash. The best way to pay is coins if you have them. We had notes with us and we were caught out several times because the machine was broken and could only take coins.
⛔️ They break down a lot.
I’m not sure if it was just our local self-service laundry shop that broke down regularly but just be aware that it can happen. What does this mean for you? If there are 5 washing machines and 2 machines break, everyone has to ‘fight’ for the 3 remaining machines which means it can take longer to get your laundry done. We had this happen to us several times and the demand for washing machines was high – hence the emphasis of being on time out of respect for everyone!
📲 Call the number for any issues.
A lot of the self-service laundromats don’t have staff on standby. You simply have a phone number to call if anything goes wrong (machine broken, payment machine not working, etc). The only issue might be that they only speak Portuguese so just be aware! When there was an issue when we did laundry in Lisbon, a local guy was ahead of us and already called the help number!
Our Experience Doing Laundry In Lisbon, Portugal
If you are traveling through Europe or you’re a digital nomad spending a few weeks in Lisbon, you will eventually need to wash your clothes!
Matthew and I stayed in a coliving space called SameSame in the center of the city. Unfortunately, our building didn’t have any washing machines to get our laundry done. This meant we had to find another solution! During our summer in Europe as digital nomads, this is the first time we haven’t had our own washing machine in our Airbnb/coliving space.
We asked around to see what the ‘norm’ was for laundry and everyone responded with the ‘self-service laundry shop’. We searched Google Maps for a laundromat and there was one only 5 minutes up the hill from our place! We got our laundry done but we decided against paying for drying as we wanted to air-dry anyway. Unfortunately, our space didn’t have enough racks for all the members and we had to hang our clothes all over our room lol!
These self-service laundromats don’t have any staff to help you. This isn’t a problem because they have signs everywhere explaining the steps of how to get your laundry in Lisbon washed in both Portuguese and English.
Doing Laundry In Lisbon Is Pretty Easy
If you don’t have a washing machine at your hotel/Airbnb, don’t fret! Getting laundry in Lisbon can be pretty easy.
You have 2 ways to do laundry: the cheap way or the expensive way!
The most cost-efficient way to do laundry in Lisbon is by going to a self-service laundromat. You will have to find it, put your clothes in the machine, pay for it and wait for your laundry to be washed. This can waste a lot of time and the machines aren’t always the best. We’ve found they weren’t accurate about the times they finished (leaving us waiting in the store for an extra 35 minutes). It is cheap though – only €5.00 for 8kg of laundry!
If you want the most convenient way to do laundry in Lisbon and the price isn’t an issue…there are door-to-door premium laundry services that will pick up, wash/dry your clothes and drop them off within 1-2 days. The cost for about 8kg of laundry is €28.00.
Matthew and I had a few learning curves while figuring out how to do laundry in Lisbon, hopefully, this guide helps you out and you learn from our experience!
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